The 2013 Season draws to a close

The last few tried again on Saturday to get in possibly one more sail, but it was to no avail as the lake had pretty much slushed out at that point. So we are going to have to wait a little longer to test out some stuff and we now go forward into a different season. Thanks to all who participated this season I believe everyone had fun whether finally getting the Ice Optis out or getting that last ride in on the sternsteerer. There is a whole lot of interest still and we will have to see how that goes forward.

April iceboating

Who would have thought that by now we would still have 15 inches of ice on the lake. A bunch of people went out and flew around as the wind was just about ideal for this morning. It has been a while and there has been a lot of news going on up here.

Todd Morgan bumped up his program and has decided that he needed to go even faster. I hear there is a new sail on order with the goal being to beat the pants off both his cousins. I bet this sail is really fast....stay tuned.

Peter V after seeing the Nite fleet grow so fast just purchased a new Nite, I mean a newer one. Then again buying a multi championship boat really is the way to go. We welcome him out on the race course, hopefully we will all get to see it on Friday at the big party.

We will have another female Nite sailor on the course next season, after sailing every one's boat she has finally gotten her own boat. We hear Maureen is going to name this boat Yakty Yak. You go girl!

In a true show of sportsmanship Joe offered John his speed mast. He is going to make another one just like it but even better. What a class act that Joe is.

Great Article on the Boecraft page

Thanks for the heads up. There was a great article written by Steve S. about the 100th NIYA Regatta last week. Check it out here http://www.boecraft.com/

My favorite part was the following:

This was the first time the B-Skeeters had a separate starting place in the rotation. Eight boats registered and seven competed. The Geneva Boats were joined by two enthusiastic and competitive Green Lake boats.

Todd Morgan sailed his father Franklin (Hink) Morgan’s Miss Geneva III. Peter Vandervelde sailed the former green snowflake formerly owned by Fred Doolittle.

Hink Morgan was a major player in the NIYA, sailing Ferdinand the Bull in Class A and winning numerous times. He was also well known for his wit and especially for his chowder. This regatta marked a first return for the Morgan family to the NIYA. The BoeCraft fleet included not only Todd his son, but Troy Soberg and Kaahlen O’Laughlin, his Grandsons.

 

As I always tell Todd, man you are royalty in the iceboating world.

I think we put Z back on the map

In a galaxy long long ago......

Its kind of like that in a way. There was a time and place where we had lots of DN's some of the hottest sailing guys in the iceboating circles. Sternsteerers lined the driveways and club outings were pretty big events. What was old history maybe what is now new history. Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks and some new dogs some new tricks.

If the results are any indication I think we can rightfully say we held our own. In all the classes, we had boats representing which I think is a first in a very long time. A couple of us were probably smart in not leaving the pits and joining the push parade with the big boats but that was probably a wise judgement, both medically and physically.

For those that did get out and race the results I think were better then we expected. Who would of thought we would have a race winner in this regatta? His boat has never been setup and measured and tuned, hell he is lucky if the runners have an edge. Yet Peter was able to get the boat around the course in very lousy conditions and take the flag in his first ever B regatta. He ended up in fourth place for a solid showing. Our newest racer Todd Morgan made us all proud in that this was his first regatta or race ever. The guy is a stand up guy just ask any DN sailor, rumor has it they love him.

In the second largest fleet the Renegade class, Dan Bierman sailing I believe his fourth regatta ever in this class ended up in third place overall. There is something to be said for consistency when it comes to making the top five. Look at the list below you on the scoring card Dan there are some big names who have won a bunch of stuff over the years below you.

The largest class was the DN group. Of course Mike Jankowski was really in the hunt and finished strong as the regatta wore on. He ended up in third in the 22 boat fleet. Besides racing, bridge building, and setting up two boats for an entire regatta he had time to take on even more responsibility becoming the NIYA Vice Commodore, a little hint Mike the Vice's do all the work :) .
Congrats to Joe, Julie and Peter for hanging tough in the middle, that is usually the hardest sailing in any regatta, as you are dealing with lots of traffic and craziness.

In the skeeters it was great to see Randy Norton out there. I think it has been along time since Doug represented the club in that class and it was great to see Randy following in his footsteps.

I hope everyone had a great time and lets hope the snow dissipates so we can end the season on a high note with some spring sailing.

The Takeaway

If you know me, then you know I have a plethora of terms that I use to describe different things at regattas. The second day of the regatta is always the moving up day for the event as most people are either sailed out or are coasting at that point. Well the Takeaway is what you learned from the event, did you win it, did you go faster, did you experience something new?

For the GLIYC, we should be amazed at the crowds of people that were trudging out to the race courses in twos or threes or groups to watch the racing. These people knew they wanted to experience the sport and see what was going on. Most of my regatta was spent on the ATV,
as we shuttled stuff back and forth, people gear and the like. Each time I came into the pits area different people were mingling around talking to sailors, taking pictures of boats and experiencing what we may take for granted but what really is the awe of this sport.

The mass of cars and trailers strewn randomly across the ice, the boats rigged or unrigged nestled in whatever space they can find. It is a modern day form of the ancient pioneer roundup. To the average person it was more of a spectacle, to us it is merely an iceboating regatta. All of this however, makes it easier to explain to the masses what iceboating really is, to people who may never ever see this again in their life. To others the opportunity to get involved in it.

Our takeaway for the club is this, that the experience of having the regatta makes it even easier to get our friends and neighbors to try and experience the sport. For those looking to get involved it provides the opportunity to get that first boat. As of this morning the phones have already been ringing with people looking for that first boat. Pretty amazing the whole experience when you think about it.

Those that saved the regatta

What defines history are events in time which exceed peoples expectations of the outcome. For all intents the 100th Anniversary of the NIYA should probably have never come off according to the purists, spring ice, threat of snow, very marginal landings. But what makes history is how you over come the obstacles presented to you. People will remember many things but it was all possible due to the small group that made it all that much easier to launch the boats, to get your car on the ice to go and spectate. These people were mentioned at the banquet but many of them were not there. This is our chance to thank those that did the quiet job. Thanks to the following:

Randy Hammond who provided the landscape mats and each day keep things tied together.
Peter and Drew Vandervelde who provided most all of the long 4 x 6 materials.
Randy Norton, Zack Bierman, Todd Morgan and kids, Steve Sohn, Mike Jankowski and a few others who helped in the process who knew they helped (DN Guys).

Who won the party

Dn sailors Julie and Markham talking about mark roundings I think....

The Morgans discuss B Skeeters with Steve.

Two of the nicest guys in Iceboating. Notice in the background Matt is again eyeing the desert table.